As generative AI tools become capable of performing many cognitive tasks, the ability to learn how to learn is increasingly recognized as a foundational competency — and one at risk of atrophy through excessive cognitive offloading (Oakley et al., 2025). This makes self-regulated learning more important than ever for lifelong learners. According to the OECD Triangle of Lifelong Learning (TLL), students need not only academic skills but also effective learning strategies, motivation, and a growth mindset to succeed (OECD, 2024). Our project presents a pedagogical response to this challenge: a micro-credential online course titled 'The Brain and Lifelong Learning,' designed to give learners tools for updating their learning strategies as the technological landscape evolves.

In this project we examine how neuroscientific insight can serve as a rationale for behavioral change across these dimensions, by answering the following research questions:

RQ1: How do students express a neuroscientific understanding of learning?

RQ2: To what extent does this insight impact their learning strategies, motivation, and growth mindset?

Our study is a single mixed-methods case study exploring student outcomes from the course, combining a qualitative discourse analysis of 19 student reflection videos with a quantitative follow-up survey conducted three months later to explore the persistence of change in their actual learning practices. Participants included both full-time students and working adults.

Reflection videos are analyzed through Russ et al.'s (2008) framework for mechanistic reasoning, while TLL is used to categorize and measure impact on students' strategies, motivation, and growth mindset.

Initial analysis of student reflections reveals that students draw on neuroscientific concepts primarily to rationalize and motivate behavioral change. 60% (n=15) of respondents reported that neuroscientific knowledge had influenced their learning practices to a “great” or “very great” degree. Across the OECD Triangle of Lifelong Learning dimensions, the largest self-reported gains were in learning strategies (80%), followed by growth mindset (60%) and motivation (53%), with no respondents selecting “none of the above.” Change persisted most strongly for physiologically grounded behaviors such as sleep and exercise, while cognitively demanding strategies like active recall remained irregular. Thirteen of fifteen respondents also reported that course knowledge had carried over into domains beyond formal study, including everyday habits, work, and the teaching of others. These preliminary findings suggest that neuroscientific framing may function as a durable rationale for behavioral change, with implications for how micro-credential courses can be designed to support lasting behavioral change in lifelong learners.